Best known for his 2007, smash hit “Bed“, R&B crooner J. Holiday is revered by many for being one of the few modern artists who creates traditional, soulful R&B music.
His sultry seductive voice, combined with similar production tracks, pushed Bed to number 1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B & Hip-Hop Songs for five weeks in a row and it also peaked at number 5 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. Rolling Stone magazine would later rank Bed at number 70 on its 100 Best Songs of 2007 list.
Holiday would release three more albums over the next seven years, with the latest entitled Guilty Conscious on his own label “Holiday Music Group” in 2014. Following that release, Holiday would focus on touring over the next four years.
Fast Forward to 2018, and Louisville’s annual week-long Kentucky Derby festivities centered around its usual multitude of celebrity hosted parties and events. Holiday would headline a Stevie Wonder Tribute concert that took place at Louisville Central Community Center (LCCC) on May 4, 2018. From 10am-2pm.
The event’s brainchild, Erica Bledsaw, who serves as LCCC’s Coordinator of Fine Arts, discovered that R&B legend Stevie Wonder would be in town performing at the Trifecta Gala on May 5 – so she decided to honor the musical legend with a musical concert called the “Oaks Day Brunch”, themed after Wonder’s most prolific album: Songs in the Key of Life.
“Our Inaugural Derby event was a fundraiser supporting the Youth Repertory Theater Troupe of Louisville of Louisville Central Community Center. We wanted to pay homage to Legend Stevie Wonder and honor him in song. We plan to keep the same format in years to come and hopefully it turns in to a premier Derby event.
Kevin Fields our CEO of LCCC had a vision and we executed. Under his leadership, LCCC will be a place for regular entertainment, food and event space. We’d like to thank Sherlene Shanklin and James McCauley for there partnership in making this event come to life.” – Erica Denise
Bledsaw and LCCC partnered with Sherlene Shanklon and JiggaMcc ENT to provide guests with an elegant brunch, catered with a full course meal of southern favorites such as biscuits & gravy, eggs, bacon, ham, fried chicken and much more.
Upon arrival, guests were free to browse the cafeteria style food line in search of what menu item best suited their taste buds. Immediately following brunch, the concert began. All artists would perform songs recorded by Stevie Wonder.
Louisville artists Shane Antonio, Sheryl Rouse, and Reggie would open the show with solo performances. Following those acts, the Youth Repertory Theater Troupe of Louisville took the stage and nearly brought the crowd to tears with their angelic voices.
Closing out the concert was J. Holiday. The “Put You To Bed” crooner showcased his strong vocal range, while belting out Ribbon in the Sky and other Stevie Wonder classics.
For more information about events at LCCC or possible venue rentals – contact Louisville Central Community Center @1300 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd. Louisville, KY 40203 Phone: (502) 583-8821
Brad Harrison is a journalist/motivational speaker/entrepreneur and on-air personality. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications with cum laude honors from the University of Louisville. In October 2015, he started UrbanMaxx Magazine to provide positive role models for Urban residents that reside in at-risk-communities and lack positive leadership in their lives.
For booking or advertising – contact Brad Harrison at bradharrison@urbanmaxx.com